Roligat off to Finland

KOROR, Palau—Sprinter Darrel Roligat embarked on Phase III of his golden summer journey early yesterday morning, leaving the 2005 Palau South Pacific Mini Games for the IAAF World Championships, which will be held in Finland.

Roligat, who will compete in the 100m sprint, indicated during an interview that his mind is filled with excitement as he tries to complete a summer of a lifetime.

“I am very excited for this,” he said. “As for now, this experience of traveling and facing top athletes in three straight meets in a very short time is very good for me and is also very fun. I’m learning so much and I get to know much about handling the pressure from these guys that have been running for so long. I’m taking all that and will use that to help me get better in the future.”

“I get to face guys that have so much experience than me and they are the best in the world,” he added. “I’ll get to meet stars of the sport. It’s anytime that you can come out and see them…only see them on television. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”

Roligat completed the 100m event in 11.6 seconds, the second fastest he’s ever posted. He clocked in at 11.4 seconds in the World Youth Championships in Morroco earlier in the month.

“I understand that I can’t run faster each time I take the track because I know that you won’t always be fast every time out” he said. “I’ll have my days where I’ll be slower or I will make mistakes, and I know I’ll have more days when everything is perfect, and that’s one good thing about competing in something like this because I learn all those things and I expect to learn more in Finland.”

With the two international competitions already under his belt, Roligat explained that he has experienced several changes to his preparation.

“Now, one thing new is that I would really think about everything that I’m going to do during the race, from the beginning, to the middle, to the end. Before, I don’t do that, I just go out and race,” he said. ‘”I don’t think I would have better times now if I had not been doing that.”

Roligat, who is accompanied by coach Elias Rangamar, will return to Saipan on Aug. 10 after spending over a month away from home soil.

“I miss home, but it’s good because it gives my family the chance to prepare because we probably won’t be together all our lives, and the same for me too because I really want to complete high school and continue competing locally and internationally to see where I’ll end up.”

Rangamar, meanwhile, expressed his satisfaction with Roligat’s experience, citing that the 16-year-old Marianas High School student will greatly benefit from the three competitions and will use it as a stepping stone towards a brighter future in athletics.

“It’s still an ongoing process but after Morocco and this one [Mini Games], he is more confident and sure of himself that he can compete with these guys, but then again, he also knows that he’s got a lot of work to do and that’s just what I want…for him to have that drive and I think watching and talking with all these athletes, it just kind a get him ready for world championships.”

Rangamar said Roligat is currently taking the experience one day at a time, hoping to be ready to run for gold in the 2006 Micronesian Games.

“By Micro Games, we’re aiming for gold,” he said. “The CNMI is not considered a powerhouse in sprints so I want Darrel to lead that charge and making the CNMI known as a powerhouse in the sprints. He definitely has the potential top do that. He’s young and he’s growing right now…he says he wants to be the fastest man in Micronesia, so that’s his goal.”

Roligat shattered his junior record with his time in Morocco and although he sets his eyes on possibly breaking the national record, stressed that the breaking of records does not cross his mind when competition time comes.

“[I] Don’t think of record…just better times,” he said. “If you think about the record, it’s just going to mess you up, so its better to just run your race.”